Photos and words by

Bob Conradi

Staff Writer

Students who visit the Student Center on a Thursday evening may be in for a surprise. Puppies from Paws (PAWS) with a Cause along with their foster handlers will be there attending classes.

For the dogs, classes involve learning mundane but difficult tasks like sitting quietly at their master’s feet in spite of various distractions. The raisers receive instructions on dog training.

“Dogs aren’t naturally aware of their rear end,” said dog trainer Linda French, 58, of Waterford. “They need practice to carry out more complex tasks while keeping their behinds out of trouble.”

French bases her instruction on 40 years of experience training dogs. She had her own dog-training business for many years and now works for a veterinarian as well as teaching for PAWS.

Thurman, a nine-week old yellow lab/golden retriever mix, is learning to be a helper dog.

French trains foster raisers on how to reinforce desired behaviors. She explained that primary reinforcers for animals are food and sex, but in training, a “bridge” reward is also needed.

A bridge is a signal that comes immediately after the desired behavior, such as the words “good dog.” The dog comes to associate the words both with proper behavior and with the promise of a primary reward. The reward is usually food or petting.

Trainer Dawn Hunter, 32, of Belleville, also teaches raisers at the Student Center. She has only been working with PAWS for a few months. Previously she trained dolphins in Hawaii. Hunter believes that basic training principles are the same for different species.

Dogs are special though. As the trainers say, they desire to please. This is what makes it fun to be a volunteer foster puppy-raiser.

Glen Walborn, 51, of Plymouth, was at the Student Center with a disarmingly cute nine-week-old puppy named Thurman, a Golden Retriever/yellow Lab mix. Thurman had some experience 30 years ago training leader dogs for the blind. More recently, a nephew with a seizure disorder provided the impetus to get back into dog training. Thurman is his first PAWS dog.

Karen Jovanelly, 45, of Dexter, came with a seven-month-old Golden/yellow Lab mix named Nila. Nila is Jovanelly’s first PAWS dog and has been in the family for five months. The nearly full-grown puppy is becoming accustomed to living with Jovanelly’s three busy children. In Jovanelly’s home, puppy raising is a family project.

PAWS breeds service dogs. The trained animals are given to volunteer foster raisers for a year to 18 months for socialization and basic obedience training. Next, the dogs return to PAWS headquarters in Wayland, near Grand Rapids, to receive advanced training.

Ashley Wiseman and Maui, her assistance dog from Paws with a Cause, pose outside a store.

In this second phase of training the dogs learn specific skills they need for the kind of assistance they will provide to their client. This phase usually requires another four to six months.

Finally, the dog is delivered to the client. A field instructor visits the client’s home about twice a week for the first month to guide both dog and client in their new adventure together. The field instructor continues to visit the client’s home, but with diminishing frequency.

French is a field instructor as well as a trainer of puppy raisers. She has two or three clients at a time. One such client was Ashley Wiseman, 23, of Ann Arbor.

Wiseman has a rare genetic disease called Dejerine-Sottas Syndrome. It affects her nerves and causes her to have limited use of her extremities. Her PAWS dog, a Golden Retriever named Maui, helps her do things that are challenging for her, like picking up a dropped telephone.         

Wiseman and Maui have been together since October 2008, and she chronicles their experiences in a blog called “Tuesdays with Maui.” Maui enables her to lead an active life. She completed a degree at Grand Valley State University and was recently accepted into a master’s degree program at University of Michigan. In her spare time, Wiseman is a political activist, leading the Ann Arbor chapter of Amnesty International.

PAWS assistance dogs can help with many kinds of disabilities. They help clients with hearing impairment, mobility problems, seizure disorders, and autism. Service dogs for children with autism began in 2009. Dogs can enter an autistic child’s world through being an ever-present nonjudgmental friend.

PAWS only manages to function with the help of volunteers.

“We are always looking for raisers,” French said. In addition, volunteers are needed for fundraising, office work and public relations. Dog lovers who can’t imagine giving up their puppy after a year can host breeding dogs in their homes.

With the help of volunteers, PAWS dogs are making a difference in the lives of people nationwide. Since its 1979 beginnings in Western Michigan, PAWS now serves 38 states and has initiated 2,400 dog/client teams, according to Deb Davis, national marketing manager. And that’s a lot of love.

To learn more, visit pawswithacause.org. To volunteer, click on “Donate Time,” and fill out the volunteer application.

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Kelly Bracha

Contributor

WCC photography major Toko Shiiki-Santos sings and plays a synthesizer alongside her band, October Babies. (Jared Angle/The Washtenaw Voice)

Student-made art project aids Japan on earthquake anniversary

Toko Shiiki-Santos poses in the WCC Photography Lab, located in GM 012. (Kelly Bacha/Contributor)

In the wee hours of the morning last March 11, Toko Shiiki-Santos woke up to distressing news about her home country of Japan.

“I got a phone call around 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. I woke up and listened to my messages. I just couldn’t believe it immediately,” Shiiki-Santos remembers. The messages from family and friends, some arriving via Twitter, too, were all similar.

“I’m alive!” some said. “I’m OK!”

Many thousands were not. The magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck off the coast of Japan at 2:46 p.m. that day, triggering powerful tsunami waves, devastating the Tōhoku region, and causing a number of nuclear accidents.

The death toll is widely reported to have surpassed 18,000. The extent of damage caused by the tsunami was reported to be more than $300 billion.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown is rated a level 7 catastrophe (the highest possible rating). Only one other incident in history, the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986, has attained this rating.

Shiiki-Santos’ mother and sister were together when they felt the earthquake in their home in Chōfu, Tokyo, just south of the quake’s epicenter. Shiiki-Santos, an award-winning photographer and singer, was 6,418 miles away, at her home in Ypsilanti. She felt helpless—and worse.

A photograph taken by Toko Shiiki-Santos for her art project. (Toko Shiiki-Santos Courtesy Photo)

“I am so, so far away from my home place. I felt survivor’s guilt,” she said. “I felt like I had to do something because I felt so guilty.”

And she did. After reading an article telling of survivors finding letters from their lost loved ones within the wreckage, she was inspired to start the “Message in a Backpack” project.

The project began shortly after the disaster and Shiiki-Santos wanted the project to convey how “people in other countries haven’t forgotten. We’re still thinking of you,” Shiiki-Santos explained.

“Message in a Backpack” project gathered 142 handmade postcards with written thoughtful messages from all over Michigan, New Zealand and France, to be hand delivered by Shiiki-Santos to Japan.

Sixty-one students from Tappan Middle School in Ann Arbor created postcards and were delivered to Hirakata Elementary School in Kitaibaraki, Japan. When Shiiki-Santos returned, she had brought with her responses that were translated and given to the students of Tappan Middle School.

Don Werthmann, digital photography instructor for the School of Digital Media Arts at WCC, helped coordinate the postcard fundraiser and the “Message in a Backpack” project.

Werthmann has a deep connection with Japan. After traveling there several times, he has very good friends in Chiba Prefecture, just outside Tokyo.

 “These events made a direct impact on my being,” Werthmann said. “My inner voice kept saying, ‘I’ve got to find a way to help.’”

Werthmann has a study-abroad program in digital photography through WCC and The Japan Center for Michigan Universities. He traveled with a group of Washtenaw students to Japan in 2010 and photographs from the trip are on display on the second floor of the Technical and Industrial building.

“We sold a lot of postcards. The first batch made around $4,000,” Shiiki-Santos said, “and at the end close to $7,000 was raised.”

“Message in a Backpack” donations were given to Habitat for Humanity International in aid of Japan.

In fall of 2011, Shiiki-Santos received an email from Nino Trentinella, a photographer and artist living in France. Trentinella found Shiiki-Santos through a photography competition in which Shiiki-Santos placed first in the “People” category for her piece called “In-between “Midlife”.

Trentinella wanted to work together with Shiiki-Santos on a project that could be completed by the one year anniversary of the disaster.

“I wanted to do something for the one year (anniversary),” Shiiki Santos said. “I knew there was lots of people that needed help still, especially in Fukushima.” Shiiki-Santos said.

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Matt Durr

Editor

The trend of enrollment numbers being down has continued into the 2012 Winter semester, according to statistics provided by Associate Vice President for Student Services Linda Blakey.

As of Feb. 13, enrollment was down 7.3 percent compared to the 2011 Winter semester, with just under 1,000 fewer students on campus.

“Every single community college in the state of Michigan is down,” Blakey said. “And my understanding is that’s a trend across the United States.”

But even as enrollment numbers decrease, Blakey says the numbers at Washtenaw Community College are actually returning to “normal” rates.

The headcounts are actually closer to what the college was experiencing prior to the record-breaking numbers last year. To date, 12,609 students have been accounted for this semester. In the Winter 2009 semester, 13,134 students attended classes. That represents a four percent change.

A significant factor in the dropping enrollment rate has been the end of “No Worker Left Behind” program and other incentive-laced programs that encouraged unemployed workers to return to college and upgrade their skills.

“We can account for where those spikes came from,” Blakey said.

The official numbers won’t be available later in the semester, but Blakey said these numbers represented a large amount of the data the college collects each semester.

When President Obama delivered a speech on college affordability at the University of Michigan last month, he briefly spoke about the benefits and affordability of community colleges. That’s something Blakey hopes will encourage more students to return to WCC.

“With students having educational benefits, it was kind of like ‘use ’em or lose ’em,’” Blakey said. “Hopefully, with President Obama talking about community colleges, people will say ‘I’m going to get some training.’”

Blakey also said that as the college implements the new “strategic planning” process, WCC will be marketing to populations where the college feels it could better serve the community.

You may also enjoy reading:

1. Enrollment takes big dip
2. By the numbers
3. Dual enrollment gives high school students a head start

Photos and words by:

Adrian Hedden

Features Editor

As Ann Arbor musician Jeremy Malvin entered his home for the first time in March 2011, he was at first taken aback by nude models posing for a drawing class.  

Three stories above South State Street in downtown Ann Arbor, the loft that 21-year-old Malvin was looking to inhabit had already been an epicenter for Ann Arbor’s art and music scene for more than 40 years under the name Arbor Vitae.

“When I first walked in, I knew it was going to be an interesting place to live,” Malvin said. “There were like naked people in the living room. I guess it comes with the territory.”

Designed as a dance hall, the loft boasts six inches of sand between the floor and the loft’s nearest downstairs neighbor, Wazoo Records. It was established as an architect firm on Friday, July 13, 1962 by architect Rich Ahern, according to longest-standing resident Ian Felcher, age 42. Ahern allowed art and design students to inhabit the loft first as an art and office space, and later as a residence.

“He was a very prolific artist and architect,” Malvin said. “It’s amazing how he let students live here and do their own thing, even though he was a bit older at that point. Some people have referred to those days as the ‘smart hippie’ crowd.”

The loft soon gained recognition for the artistic endeav- ors within its walls along with a sense of urgency for political and social activism created by Ahern. Known for Ahern’s ties to activist organization Greenpeace and for a rumored stay enjoyed by the Dali Lama in the 1990s, the loft is now known, by word-of-mouth only, as the place to be for Ann Arborites looking to escape the mainstream.

“He (Ahern) has a legacy,” Felcher said. “People have been coming to get Rich’s prints for years. We’ve got them all catalogued and organized. He said this place reminded him of a dream he had of an upsidedown building. It’s one of the things that makes this town great. There are so many avenues of culture. This place was built for it.”

Ann Arbor synth rock band Charlie Slick has performed at Arbor Vitae numerous times over the years. Since his teens, front man Charles Slick has looked to the loft as the hippest stage independent bands can take in the city.

“It’s inevitable to play here,” Slick said. “When I was young, it was the place to be, a dark mystery of coolness. Strangely enough, Ann Arbor is a college town, but there aren’t a lot of options for low-key bands to perform at. If you’re from out of town, and you come by, you’ll be like ‘this is where I belong,’ unless you’re a square.”

Slick appreciates the immense support local bands like his own garner at the loft. He sees Arbor Vitae’s donation-only policy and complete allo- cation of funds to performers a rare generosity in Ann Arbor. “It’s easier to have a good show here if you’re small,” Slick said. “It’s the best place for bands to play because of the support. Unlike most places around here, we’re not wheat in a field for you to harvest.”

These days, residents con- tinue to use the space provided at the Arbor Vitae to hone their artistic and social endeavors. Comprised entirely of local musicians, the group currently dwelling at the loft is mainly focused on music.

“The style of the place has been changing as the people who live here change,” Malvin said. “Lately, some local promoters have been using the space as a venue.”

Malvin has seen the stylistic preference of the musicians at the loft expanding recently. He has been glad to see a wider range of musical acts and genres climb the stairs and cross the threshold into artistic freedom at the loft.

“When I first came here, it was a lot of experimental garage rock, but it has opened up a lot more,” Malvin said. “We had an old soul quartet not too long ago as well as chamber music concerts. Musically it’s been all over the board, which is healthy for the scene.”

Booking the majority of musical performances over the past six months, Malvin, who performs locally as electronic act Chrome Sparks, usually maintains a frequency for shows of twice a month. Felcher enjoys the leisure this policy allows for.

“The reason we veto so much is because we do like to eat our cornflakes in the morning,” Felcher said. “It is first and foremost a home, but I hope it keeps going. Fundraisers and benefits are great, but what about the bands?”

Never planned ahead of time, performances that do occur each month are but two of the many requests the loft receives. Malvin usually expects about 100 attendees at the weekend show, which are approved unanimously by house-mates.

“We don’t have any trouble finding acts,” Malvin said “We already get asked to do more shows than we’re capable of. Everyone has to be cool with it though, you just have to ask the house.”

The house doesn’t only approve music. Partnering with the Ann Arbor Free Skool and Ann Arbor Craft Society, the loft has hosted figure drawing, crochet and other art classes. Teaching crochet at the loft, Christine Barrera, 24, of Brighton, sees the loft as an oasis in the midst of corporate development downtown.

“I like that it’s part of a different area of Ann Arbor,” Barrera said. “This area is all developed and full of businesses, then there’s this housing in the middle of it all. It’s such a nice little niche, a little corner of creativity. It maintains a good level of what everybody wants.”

Harkening back to a town he once loved for its stance against corporate take-over, Trevor Eller, 34, an Ypsilanti resident, has visited the Arbor Vitae sporadically for over ten years. He believes the loft to be small sample of the highly expressive and affluent town that Ann Arbor once was.

“It represents what Ann Arbor used to be, but isn’t anymore: the creative energy. Ann Arbor used to be a real hotbed of activity.” Eller said. “It’s sort of a hold back to when State Street was all independent. No corporations were allowed. I’m happy this place remains though, it’s cool up there.”

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William Isaac Winston

Contributor

On a frigid February day at the corner of Washtenaw and Mansfield in Ypsilanti, a man dressed in a Statue of Liberty costume holds up a sign that reads “Honk if you Love Liberty Tax.”

There was silence on the corner that day though almost everyone has to answer to the tax man. The start of February marks the beginning of the 2½-month-long sprint to file taxes here in the United States.

Many college students, or their parents or guardians, across the country are entitled to tax credits, tax write-offs and discounted tax services that were designed to help with the burden of paying for education.

Kathleen M. Jackson, a general manager at Liberty Tax Service, explained that whoever claims a student on their taxes is eligible for education tax credits. This person can be the actual student or the student’s parents.

“Currently, the most advantageous credit that a student can take advantage of in their first four years of claiming their education is the America Opportunity Tax Credit,” Jackson said. “This basically entitles you to up to $1,000 back that you did not pay in income for that year. If you have not personally claimed this education credit then you are eligible to four years of the tax credit.”

“I didn’t know there were any tax benefits available to students,” said Joshua David Martin, 19, of Ann Arbor, a graphic design student at Washtenaw Community College.

“Most people don’t have the time to look up all of the tax benefits that they are entitled to receive,” Jackson said.

Jackson added that she has filed taxes for international students and several of these students have received a tax refund based off of tax credits.

“I am extremely lazy when it comes to my taxes,” said Briannah Henderson, 21, of Ann Arbor, majoring in childhood develop at WCC. “I literally wait for my W-2s then I take them to H & R Block because my sister told me to go there. They do all of my taxes for me.”

Henderson added that she thinks a lot of students are too busy to do the research about the tax breaks that are available to them. She works two jobs in addition to her course work at WCC.

“There are a lot of students who are not taking advantage of the AOTC,” said Jackson. “I file taxes for students every year who do not have any idea that they are eligible for this education credit.”

Also, Henderson said she has not invested time in educating herself about her taxes because she has depended on H & R Block to get her the best tax return. H&R Block charges her $142 to do her taxes.

You can file your taxes yourself for free, or at a reduced cost, using tax software or using a pencil and the printed forms.

“The difference between doing your taxes yourself and filing through a tax service is significant,” Jackson said. “However you do not have support in the event there is an audit. We work to ensure that your taxes are accurate.”

The United Way offers a free tax service for students at 23035 Platt Rd., near Washtenaw, Feb. 4-March 10 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Jackson said that her tax business provides free services to certain career fields during March. For more information contact a local Liberty Tax Service office.

“The education tax credits aren’t limited to your tuition and fees,” Jackson said. “The IRS allows you to deduct anything that is necessary to complete your course work can be deducted. If you purchase Word 2007 for a course, then you can deduct the cost of that software from your taxes.”

Martin said that his mother claims him as a dependent on her taxes. Also, she told him to hold onto a receipt for a laptop that he purchased for his classes at WCC for her taxes.

Henderson said that H&R Block has used the receipts from her books purchases to make deduction on her taxes.

The IRS allows you to amend your taxes if you find that you made a mistake or if there is a credit that you didn’t take into account.

“I did the taxes for one student this year and she brought me her tax forms for previous years so that I could amend those taxes so she could get a refund for those years,” said Jackson. “She had no idea that this education credit was available because no one told her.”

Henderson said that she has already completed her taxes for this year.

Luckily she can amend her taxes if she finds that there is a credit or write-off available that was missing from the taxes that were filed.

Henderson said a lot of students learn by word of mouth rather than researching this type of information.

Jackson added that about 10 percent of her clients are students. This number is growing every year because word is spreading about the tax credits.

Martin admits that he didn’t really want to worry about doing his taxes in past years. However, now he works part-time and he has a graphic design business so he changed his mind about doing his taxes.

Martin said that next year he plans to start doing his own taxes. Also, he will educate himself about tax credits and deductions for students, as well as business owners.

“If you want to educate yourself about tax benefits, then you should get on the IRS website,” Jackson said. “They have an excellent search engine.”

The IRS website can be found at

http://irs.gov/.

For more information, visit:

http://aiprx.libertytax.com,

http://hrblock.com/,

or http://wuway.org/

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Students and WCC employees: Classified ads in The Voice are free.

Local business owners: Looking for help? Post your free help wanted ads in The Voice.

Send ads to thewashtenawvoice@gmail.com.

Deadline for the March 12 is 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6.

help wanted

Tutor wanted for an 11-year-old boy interested in game designing. One or two days per week, up to $15 per hour. For more information, phone Lori at (734) 686-9295

services

Radiography tutoring available: Having difficulty in the Radiography Program?  As a recent WCC radiography graduate, I can help you learn exactly what you need to know to pass the quizzes, exams, and also prepare you for the A.R.R.T  exam. For more information , call Joe at (734) 657-4596.

for rent

1 Bdrm apartment for rent, third floor unit. Located on Golfside. Phone (734) 635-1186.

1, 2 or 3 Bdrm apartments across from EMU campus on AATA bus lines 3 & 7 to WCC. Visit www.aymanagement.com, or phone (734) 482-4442 or (734) 483-1711.

Mobile home on lake with a great view. 8 miles to Chelsea and 8 miles to Dexter. Great swimming beach. Large deck. 2 brms, 1 bath. Outdooor storage shed. Bring your boat, great fishing lake. Credit check. $675.00 per month. (734) 665-7912.

Below is a sample of recent employment want ads that have been posted with WCC’s Employment Services Center. For more information about these ads, contact Employment Services at (734) 677-5155, or visit SC287 to review the complete posting.

for sale

1999 Ford Taurus. Excellent condition with less than 100,000 original miles. 4-dr, leather seats, power seats, locks and windows and a sun roof. $3,800. Email

lviers@sbcglobal.net.

Mobile home on lake with a great view. 8 miles to Chelsea and 8 miles to Dexter. Great swimming beach. Large deck. 2 brms, 1 bath. Outdooor storage shed. Bring your boat, great fishing lake. Credit check. $675.00 per month. (734) 665-7912.

Below is a sample of recent employment want ads that have been posted with WCC’s Employment Services Center. For more information about these ads, contact Employment Services at (734) 677-5155, or visit SC287 to review the complete posting.

Robot Programmers (2476277) Path teach industrial robots for applications including but not limited to resistance welding, arc welding, material handling, material dispense, stud welding, laser cutting, and water jet cutting. Setup IO and system variables for the specified application and end user standards. Electrical print reading. Assist and verify that all robot dress components and installation meet customer specifications.  Ensure that all robots are properly mastered, have correct TCP and Load values, and all of this information is properly recorded according to customer needs. More details are included on specific job description. Full-time position. Orion

Consumer Financial Sales Representative (2498919) Consumer loan company that provides customized personal and home equity loans that are approved and serviced locally by knowledgeable loan specialists seeks candidate with high school diploma or equivalent, and a minimum of two years directly related sales experience in a similar industry. Effective communication skills that demonstrate the ability to work directly with people in a customer service capacity. Familiarity with PC-like hardware/software, including use of the PC keyboard and mouse. Able to work flexible hours and basic knowledge of accounting is helpful.

Infant toddler Teacher (2499599) Infant/toddler help needed for a childcare center. Must be experienced and able to provide references. Seeking candidate with associate’s degree in Child Development. Full-time in Ann Arbor location.

Marketing Intern (2509144) Our organization, a national non-profit association, is comprised of faculty, students and industry professionals dedicated to solving complex technological problems and developing the competitive technologist and applied engineering workforce. Seeking an intern to assist in marketing program. Projects include, but not limited to: Website-proofing and editing; social media, assist in designing a strategy for the association; and creation of promotional pieces for our social media. More details available on specific job description. Ann Arbor location.

Lead Cooks (2484852) Seeking a morning and an evening lead cook for complete meal preparation. Morning cook is responsible for complete preparation and serving of breakfast and lunch for 20-250 residents from mid-April through August. Shift begins at 5:30 a.m., ending at 1:30 p.m., five days a week including weekends. Evening Cook is responsible for complete preparation of the evening meal for 20-250 residents from May through August. Shift begins at noon and ends at 8 p.m., five days a week, including weekends. Both positions include: following Serve Safe guidelines; assisting with developing and following a menu plan that is posted weekly; preparing meals and ingredients for the following day; preparing a vegetarian and vegan option along with filling any dietary needs as requested; supervising meal service and be available to answer questions about the meal and its contents; and managing assistant staff members. Full-time seasonal positions in Pellston.

Physical Therapist Assistant (2500171) Physical therapist-owned private practice specializing in orthopedics is seeking a licensed PTA trained in Pilates to work with certified Rehabilitative Pilates physical therapists in orthopedic rehabilitation with an emphasis on manual therapy. Located in Novi in a medical office building on a major hospital campus. Competitive salary and benefits. Full or part-time.

Wellness Nurse – Care Coordinator (2500469) Share The Care, a unique program assisting seniors in independent living communities, is seeking an RN for the Wellness Nurse Ann Arbor location. This position performs assessments, manages medication assistance program, and offers direction, training and supervision to caregiver staff and clinical support to clients. Ideal candidate must possess strong customer service skills and experience with geriatric population. 20-30 hours per week based on organizational need; occasional weekends, holidays and on-call duties required.

Part-time Administrative Internship (2504414) Support Assistant and Graphics Coordinator with day-to-day activities, including, but not limited to: maintaining office supplies; putting together customer books and company presentations and filing. Also would be responsible for: maintaining basement showroom; updating and maintaining company travel log; filing travel requisitions; assisting with making hotel and car reservations; reconciling billing for travel and laminating items. More details are available on specific job description.  Belleville location.

Full-time Sales Lead (2505142) Our chosen candidate will be responsible for: Overseeing and ensuring the highest levels of customer service to be offered to customers; communicating effectively with employees, support services and corporate personnel throughout our sports-related company; acting as the store manager in the absence of a store manager; being aware of and communicating to all staff the store’s individual sales goals; observing and ensuring that the staff is practicing all company policies, including selling techniques in order to meet and exceed goals; understanding and complying with all company policies and operational procedures; maintaining our  merchandising standards. More details can be found in the specific job description. Full-time position in Howell.

important career tip:

Volunteering is a fantastic way of gaining valuable and marketable skills while helping out your community. Volunteer experiences are also excellent opportunities to network with other volunteers. Whether it’s at a church, hospital, school or local non-profit agency, volunteering has great potential for personal and professional growth, and can lend a helping hand to those who are in times of need.and transportation.

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